Reflection of the Full Moon in a pond on Mount Baker. © Pat Paquette 2010.

If you arrive at the dock 30 seconds late, you may have to wait an hour for the next ferry. I’ve slept through the alarm a few times, and when I realized how late it was, I had to make a last-minute scramble to get my butt out the door – wet hair, no coffee, and makeup thrown in a bag for later.

That, dear ones, is how I see the Full Moon lunar eclipse on December 21 – the first eclipse in the new Sagittarius-Gemini series. As we awaken into higher consciousness, we may suddenly realize that our normal routine is useless, and we’ll have to make some very fast changes in order not to miss the boat.

Most of us have a pretty good idea by now where we’re going, or at least in which direction we’re heading. The challenge has been how to get there. Over the summer, under the influence of the cardinal T-square, we initiated new circumstances in our lives but then got stuck. To get unstuck, we had to expand our thinking or change our beliefs. If you managed to get that far, you may now find yourself in a chaotic blur as your inner being and outer world attempt to realign.

The Sun at 29 degrees Sagittarius and the Moon at 29 degrees Gemini form a mutable T-square with Jupiter and Uranus, both back in late Pisces after their brief foray into Aries over the summer. Whereas the cardinal T-square initiates new projects and circumstances, the mutable T-square favors change through adaptation. So, the way I read this is that we’ll need to scramble to make changes in order to adapt to events that came about during the cardinal T-square.

Several hours after the Full Moon, the Sun enters Capricorn and activates the apex of the cardinal T-square, which was occupied by Pluto over the summer. The lunar North Node, a destiny point, also is there, and Mars recently moved over this point. Needless to say, it’s a highly charged area of the sky. Be prepared for difficult issues to come to a head, but then observe closely. What transpires will give you a clue about what comes next and what course corrections you need to make, if any.

In a flip of energies, Jupiter and Uranus are at the apex of the mutable T-square at this Full Moon – yet another sign that shifting is going to occur. Uranus is unpredictable, but with Jupiter in close conjunction, whatever happens is sure to happen big. The open spot opposite Jupiter and Uranus, in late Virgo, is the pressure relief valve, so check to see where this point is located in your chart. That’s where you may see the most positive changes at this eclipse.

The conjunction of Neptune and Chiron form another release point, which is in a flowing sextile-trine pattern with the Sun and Moon. I’ve been writing about these two for several years and their influence in healing. We can’t expect to have healthy and supportive social structures when the individuals who make up our society are sick, asleep, and drugged into emotional numbness. How much shock is enough to wake us up? And will enough of us do the healing work to reach critical mass?

Mercury is the ruler of this eclipse, and he’s retrograde until the end of the month. While we may have to deal with a lot of frustrating delays and miscommunications, I’m hopeful that we’ll also have an opportunity to rethink our response to the summer’s events. Launching new projects while Mercury is retrograde isn’t advised, but research and revision can work out quite well. Mercury is closely conjunct the Galactic Center, and that tells me we could get more “downloads” from the Universe – important information we can use to help us comprehend what’s occurring and to work more effectively toward our new goals.

A few hours after the eclipse, Venus reaches the degree of her retrograde on October 8. Relationships enter new territory, and I think this will be mostly for the better. The problem, as I see it, is that with Mercury retrograde, going back over old ground may be necessary but not necessarily productive. Try it, and if you see that it’s not working, back off until after Mercury returns direct on December 30.

Saturn is unaspected at this Full Moon but is “receiving” from Pluto, Mars, and Ceres in Capricorn, and he’s also exalted in Libra. Whatever we manifest now, there’s a real possibility that it will balanced and fair. Among other things, look for news of environmental issues being addressed in a more fair and balanced way. Saturn will be the ruler of the next New Moon, a solar eclipse at 13 degrees Capricorn on January 4.

The Sabian Symbol** for the Moon at 29°21′ Gemini is, bathing beauties, with the keyword CHARM. We all have natural gifts and talents. They are part of who we are and what makes us unique, and as we develop them to their fullest potential, we become stronger and more confident. When we’re using our gifts as intended, we naturally want what is best for our “highest self,” and we can more easily let go of what doesn’t serve us. Since this is a Full Moon, there’s a strong possibility that many of us will have to let go of something or someone.

For the Sun at 29°21′ Sagittarius, the Sabian Symbol is the Pope, with the keyword SANCTITY. This symbol originally was meant as a testament to the special abilities a person develops as he climbs higher on the social and political ladder. In an era long gone, those who made it to the top were admired for their strength and leadership, and it was recognized that they sacrificed much to make it to the top.

There’s a flip side to this symbol, “inordinate love of self-display and surrender to a lust for power.” That hits the nail on the head in the context of mundane astrology. But there’s a personal message in it, too, which is that getting to the top – whatever that means to you – requires self-sacrifice and, above all, maintaining your integrity.

Pat

** From The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones. The author, an astrologer, channeled this work in 1925 with the help of Elsie Wheeler, a gifted psychic. There’s one symbol one for each degree of the zodiac, and we can use them to gain insight into charts.